Love this club

Herbert leaves NZ post with the 'game in a healthy position'

Ricki Herbert participated in his final press conference as New Zealand boss on Wednesday night.

The former Wellington Phoenix head coach saw his All Whites side lose 4-2 to Mexico in the second leg of their intercontinental World Cup playoff in Wellington which forced them out of the running for next year's FIFA tournament.

Despite a 9-3 aggregate loss to El Tri, Herbert felt that New Zealand football was in a fairly strong place upon his departure.

"I will wake up in the morning and think that the game is in an incredibly healthy position," said Herbert. "This inexperienced team showed some great potential and I look forward to 2018 and buying a ticket at Westpac Stadium to watch them play."

Herbert added: "The last 45 minutes was incredibly refreshing. Every week I hear in the A League about possession based football and people need a year to get it right and get it ready; we are probably not going to get it right in one night against Mexico."